BU starts scholarship to honor Chinese student who died in Marathon bombings

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Boston University has established a scholarship fund honoring graduate student Lingzi Lu, who was one of three people killed in the Marathon bombings, as her grieving family recalled her as “the joy of our lives.”

“A scholarship fund in her name will be there forever; people can contribute to something that is ongoing,” Kenneth Feld, a BU trustee who proposed the scholarship, said Thursday.

BU said offers to help have poured in from alumni, friends, and others around the world.

The scholarship fund was proposed Wednesday at ameeting for a school fund-raising campaign. Before the meeting had adjourned, BU officials said, the seven people in attendance had committed $560,000 for the scholarship.

Lu, 23, was killed by one of the bombs that exploded near the finish line at the Marathon. She had gone to see the finish line with two friends. One, Zhou Danling, was hospitalized with injuries, according to reports by BU Today and the Chinese Consulate in New York earlier this week. The other friend was unharmed.

The fund aligns with the Lu family’s wishes to honor their daughter, who was a graduate student studying statistics. The family is expected to travel from their home in Shenyang, China, to Boston later this week.

In a statement released by the college Thursday, Lu’s family said they are “at a loss for words to describe the pain and sadness we are experiencing following the sudden passing of our dear daughter.”

“She was the joy of our lives,” the statement said. “She was a bright and wonderful child. We were thrilled to watch her grow into an intelligent and beautiful young woman. She was a positive role model for many others.

“It has always been her dream to come to America to study,” the family said. “
She fell in love with Boston and its people. She loved her new friends and her professors. . . . She wanted to play a role in international business, specializing in applied mathematics. She has been studying very hard toward her goal.

“While her dream has not been realized, we want to encourage others who have Lingzi’s ambition and dreams and want to make the world a better place.”